1900 United States census

Twelfth census of the United States
← 1890 June 1, 1900 1910 →
Seal of the Department of the Interior
Population schedule from the 1900 census
General information
CountryUnited States
AuthorityCensus Office
Results
Total population76,212,168 (Increase 21.01%)
Most populous ​stateNew York
7,268,894
Least populous ​stateNevada
42,335

The 1900 United States census, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900,[1] determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census. It was the last census to be conducted before the founding of the permanent United States Census Bureau.

The census saw the nation's largest city, New York City, more than double in size due to the consolidation with Brooklyn, becoming in the process the first U.S. city to record a population growth of over three million.

Oversight of the statistics was by Frederick Howard Wines and Walter F. Willcox.[2]

Census questions

The 1900 census collected the following information:[3]

  • address
  • name
  • relationship to head of family
  • sex
  • race (listed as "Color or race" on the census)
  • age, month and year born
  • marital status and, if married, number of years married
  • for women, number of children born and number now living
  • place of birth of person, and their parents
  • if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized
  • occupation
  • months not employed
  • school
  • ability to speak English
  • whether on a farm
  • home owned or rented, and, if owned, whether mortgaged

Full documentation for the 1900 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Data availability

The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s, after which the original sheets were destroyed.[4] The microfilmed census is available in rolls from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations also host images of the microfilmed census online, and digital indices.

Microdata from the 1900 census are freely available through IPUMS. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

State rankings

Rank State Population as of
1900 census[5] 		Population as of
1890 census 		Change Percent
change
1  New York 7,268,894 6,003,174 1,265,720 Increase 21.1% Increase
2 Pennsylvania 6,302,115 5,258,113 1,044,002 Increase 19.9% Increase
3  Illinois 4,821,550 3,826,352 995,198 Increase 26.0% Increase
4  Ohio 4,157,545 3,672,329 485,216 Increase 13.2% Increase
5  Missouri 3,106,665 2,679,185 427,480 Increase 16.0% Increase
6  Texas 3,048,710 2,235,527 813,183 Increase 36.4% Increase
7  Massachusetts 2,805,346 2,238,947 566,399 Increase 25.3% Increase
8  Indiana 2,516,462 2,192,404 324,058 Increase 14.8% Increase
9  Michigan 2,420,982 2,093,890 327,092 Increase 15.6% Increase
10  Iowa 2,231,853 1,912,297 319,556 Increase 16.7% Increase
11  Georgia 2,216,331 1,837,353 378,978 Increase 20.6% Increase
12  Kentucky 2,147,174 1,858,635 288,539 Increase 15.5% Increase
13  Wisconsin 2,069,042 1,693,330 375,712 Increase 22.2% Increase
14  Tennessee 2,020,616 1,767,518 253,098 Increase 14.3% Increase
15  North Carolina 1,893,810 1,617,949 275,861 Increase 17.0% Increase
16  New Jersey 1,883,669 1,444,933 438,736 Increase 30.4% Increase
17  Virginia 1,854,184 1,655,980 198,204 Increase 12.0% Increase
18  Alabama 1,828,697 1,513,401 315,296 Increase 20.8% Increase
19  Minnesota 1,751,394 1,310,283 441,111 Increase 33.7% Increase
20  Mississippi 1,551,270 1,289,600 261,670 Increase 20.3% Increase
21 California 1,485,053 1,213,398 271,655 Increase 22.4% Increase
22 Kansas 1,470,495 1,428,108 42,387 Increase 3.0% Increase
23  Louisiana 1,381,625 1,118,588 263,037 Increase 23.5% Increase
24  South Carolina 1,340,316 1,151,149 189,167 Increase 16.4% Increase
25  Arkansas 1,311,564 1,128,211 183,353 Increase 16.3% Increase
26  Maryland 1,188,044 1,042,390 145,654 Increase 14.0% Increase
27  Nebraska 1,066,300 1,062,656 3,644 Increase 0.3% Increase
28  West Virginia 958,800 762,794 196,006 Increase 25.7% Increase
29  Connecticut 908,420 746,258 162,162 Increase 21.7% Increase
–  Oklahoma[6] 790,391 258,657 531,734 Increase 205.6% Increase
30 Maine 694,466 661,086 33,380 Increase 5.0% Increase
31  Colorado 539,700 413,249 126,451 Increase 30.6% Increase
32  Florida 528,542 391,422 137,120 Increase 35.0% Increase
33 Washington 518,103 357,232 160,871 Increase 45.0% Increase
34  Rhode Island 428,556 345,506 83,050 Increase 24.0% Increase
35  Oregon 413,536 317,704 95,832 Increase 30.2% Increase
36  New Hampshire 411,588 376,530 35,058 Increase 9.3% Increase
37  South Dakota 401,570 348,600 52,970 Increase 15.2% Increase
38  Vermont 343,641 332,422 11,219 Increase 3.4% Increase
39  North Dakota 319,146 190,983 128,163 Increase 67.1% Increase
–  District of Columbia 278,718 230,392 48,326 Increase 21.0% Increase
40  Utah 276,749 210,779 65,970 Increase 31.3% Increase
41  Montana 243,329 142,924 100,405 Increase 70.3% Increase
–  New Mexico 195,310 160,282 35,028 Increase 21.9% Increase
42 Delaware 184,735 168,493 16,242 Increase 9.6% Increase
43  Idaho 161,772 88,548 73,224 Increase 82.7% Increase
–  Hawaii 154,001 89,990 64,011 Increase 71.1% Increase
–  Arizona 122,931 88,243 34,688 Increase 39.3% Increase
44  Wyoming 92,531 62,555 29,976 Increase 47.9% Increase
–  Alaska 63,592 32,052 31,540 Increase 98.4% Increase
45  Nevada 42,335 47,355 -5,020 Decrease -10.6% Decrease
 United States 76,212,168 62,979,766 13,232,402 Increase 21.0% Increase

City rankings

Rank City State Population[7] Region (2016)[8]
01 New York New York 3,437,202 Northeast
02 Chicago Illinois 1,698,575 Midwest
03 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1,293,697 Northeast
04 St. Louis Missouri 575,238 Midwest
05 Boston Massachusetts 560,892 Northeast
06 Baltimore Maryland 508,957 South
07 Cleveland Ohio 391,768 Midwest
08 Buffalo New York 352,387 Northeast
09 San Francisco California 342,782 West
10 Cincinnati Ohio 325,902 Midwest
11 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 321,616 Northeast
12 New Orleans Louisiana 287,104 South
13 Detroit Michigan 285,704 Midwest
14 Milwaukee Wisconsin 285,315 Midwest
15 Washington District of Columbia 278,718 South
16 Newark New Jersey 246,070 Northeast
17 Jersey City New Jersey 206,433 Northeast
18 Louisville Kentucky 204,731 South
19 Minneapolis Minnesota 202,718 Midwest
20 Providence Rhode Island 175,597 Northeast
21 Indianapolis Indiana 169,164 Midwest
22 Kansas City Missouri 163,752 Midwest
23 Saint Paul Minnesota 163,065 Midwest
24 Rochester New York 162,608 Northeast
25 Denver Colorado 133,859 West
26 Toledo Ohio 131,822 Midwest
27 Allegheny Pennsylvania 129,896 Northeast
28 Columbus Ohio 125,560 Midwest
29 Worcester Massachusetts 118,421 Northeast
30 Syracuse New York 108,374 Northeast
31 New Haven Connecticut 108,027 Northeast
32 Paterson New Jersey 105,171 Northeast
33 Fall River Massachusetts 104,863 Northeast
34 St. Joseph Missouri 102,979 Midwest
35 Omaha Nebraska 102,555 Midwest
36 Los Angeles California 102,479 West
37 Memphis Tennessee 102,320 South
38 Scranton Pennsylvania 102,026 Northeast
39 Lowell Massachusetts 94,969 Northeast
40 Albany New York 94,151 Northeast
41 Cambridge Massachusetts 91,886 Northeast
42 Portland Oregon 90,426 West
43 Atlanta Georgia 89,872 South
44 Grand Rapids Michigan 87,565 Midwest
45 Dayton Ohio 85,333 Midwest
46 Richmond Virginia 85,050 South
47 Nashville Tennessee 80,865 South
48 Seattle Washington 80,671 West
49 Hartford Connecticut 79,850 Northeast
50 Reading Pennsylvania 78,961 Northeast
51 Wilmington Delaware 76,508 South
52 Camden New Jersey 75,935 Northeast
53 Trenton New Jersey 73,307 Northeast
54 Bridgeport Connecticut 70,996 Northeast
55 Lynn Massachusetts 68,513 Northeast
56 Oakland California 66,960 West
57 Lawrence Massachusetts 62,559 Northeast
58 New Bedford Massachusetts 62,442 Northeast
59 Des Moines Iowa 62,139 Midwest
60 Springfield Massachusetts 62,059 Northeast
61 Somerville Massachusetts 61,643 Northeast
62 Troy New York 60,651 Northeast
63 Hoboken New Jersey 59,364 Northeast
64 Evansville Indiana 59,007 Midwest
65 Manchester New Hampshire 56,987 Northeast
66 Utica New York 56,383 Northeast
67 Peoria Illinois 56,100 Midwest
68 Charleston South Carolina 55,807 South
69 Savannah Georgia 54,244 South
70 Salt Lake City Utah 53,531 West
71 San Antonio Texas 53,321 South
72 Duluth Minnesota 52,969 Midwest
73 Erie Pennsylvania 52,733 Northeast
74 Elizabeth New Jersey 52,130 Northeast
75 Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania 51,721 Northeast
76 Kansas City Kansas 51,418 Midwest
77 Harrisburg Pennsylvania 50,167 Northeast
78 Portland Maine 50,145 Northeast
79 Yonkers New York 47,931 Northeast
80 Norfolk Virginia 46,624 South
81 Waterbury Connecticut 45,859 Northeast
82 Holyoke Massachusetts 45,712 Northeast
83 Fort Wayne Indiana 45,115 Midwest
84 Youngstown Ohio 44,885 Midwest
85 Houston Texas 44,633 South
86 Covington Kentucky 42,938 South
87 Akron Ohio 42,728 Midwest
88 Dallas Texas 42,638 South
89 Saginaw Michigan 42,345 Midwest
90 Lancaster Pennsylvania 41,459 Northeast
91 Lincoln Nebraska 40,169 Midwest
92 Brockton Massachusetts 40,063 Northeast
93 Binghamton New York 39,647 Northeast
94 Augusta Georgia 39,441 South
95 Pawtucket Rhode Island 39,231 Northeast
96 Altoona Pennsylvania 38,973 Northeast
97 Wheeling West Virginia 38,878 South
98 Mobile Alabama 38,469 South
99 Birmingham Alabama 38,415 South
100 Little Rock Arkansas 38,307 South

Locations of 50 most populous cities

class=notpageimage|
Location of 50 largest cities by population in the United States in 1900, on a map of the modern United States.
Numbered Cities
1. Worcester, Massachusetts
2. Paterson, New Jersey
3. Albany, New York
4. Cambridge, Massachusetts
5. Hartford, Connecticut

References

  1. ^ "1900 Overview", History, US Census Bureau
  2. ^ Mitchell, Wesley C. (1900). "Preparations for the Twelfth Census". Journal of Political Economy. 8 (3): 378–384. doi:10.1086/250680. ISSN 0022-3808.
  3. ^ "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. p. 45 (p. 51 of PDF). Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Algonquin Area Public Library District. "Census Secrets" (PDF). Retrieved May 17, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ States and territories census.gov
  6. ^ Including Indian Territory, which was yet to be combined with Oklahoma Territory to form the state of Oklahoma.
  7. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  8. ^ "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
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